Aid focus turns to quake survivors

Unspeakable heartache

Neither Turkiye nor Syria has said how many people are still missing.

UN aid chief Martin Griffiths, who visited Turkiye last week, said the people had "experienced unspeakable heartache", adding, "We must stand with them in their darkest hour and ensure they receive the support they need."

For families still waiting to retrieve relatives, there is growing anger over what they see as corrupt building practices and deeply flawed urban development that resulted in thousands of homes and businesses disintegrating.

Turkiye has promised to investigate anyone suspected of responsibility for the collapse of the buildings and has ordered the detention of more than 100 suspects, including developers.

Across the border in Syria, the quake slammed a region divided and devastated by 12 years of civil war. The government says the death toll in territory it controls is 1,414. More than 4,000 fatalities have been reported in the rebel-held northwest, and rescuers say nobody has been found alive there since Feb 9.

The aid effort has been hampered by the conflict. As of Thursday, 119 UN trucks have gone through the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salam crossings from Turkiye into Northwest Syria after the earthquake, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs told Reuters.

Many survivors have fled the disaster zones, but some have decided to stay despite the dreadful conditions.

"We spend our days with bread, soup and meals as part of the aid sent by people. We don't have a life anymore. We are afraid," said Mustafa Akan in Adiyaman, who sleeps outdoors and stays warm by burning wood in a bucket.

                                                                                      Agencies - Xinhua